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Danks looks to start throwing on Nov. 1

Danks looks to start throwing on Nov. 1

CHICAGO -- A Wednesday meeting with White Sox team physician Dr. Charles Bush-Joseph has left-hander John Danks optimistic about starting to play catch on the first of November.

"That was music to my ears," said a smiling Danks, who is ahead of schedule in his recovery from successful arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Aug. 6. "I feel if I can start throwing the first of November, that should give me enough time to be ready for spring and we'll go from there."

In his ongoing rehab, Danks has noticed a major improvement in just his range of motion. That's an encouraging feeling for Danks, who was frustrated by the lack of progress with the injury, which popped up the day after his last start on May 19 at Wrigley Field.

"This is the most upbeat I've been in a while because I'm seeing every day, every other day, every third day, some kind of improvement," Danks said. "I'm getting a little more each time out.

"It's good for me because I'm an impatient person. I need to see results. That's why it was so tough before surgery because I felt I was running in place. For me to see results and improvements has been huge."

That Nov. 1 date will be circled on Danks' calendar if all continues to go well. And he's looking forward to throwing again, more than being fearful of letting it go a little bit for the first time since surgery.

"I haven't thrown in a while and obviously anything can happen between now and then," Danks said. "I have cautious optimism would be the best way of looking at it.

"Even though I'm healthy, the first time I pick up a ball in the offseason, I know it's not going to feel great. I'll probably have to go through some stuff, probably early on.

"Once I get going, I'll have a better idea if what I'm feeling is good or I need to push it, back off, whatnot," Danks said. "In terms of the surgery, everything is healed. We're at the point that we can push it as far as we can tolerate it."